Tulare County Animal Services is available by appointment only.  Please click here for a pdf version of this update.

TULARE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES UPDATE
November 23, 2020

TCAS is dedicated to service to both the humans and animals of the community. In an effort to keep shelter animals, staff, and the community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tulare County Animal Services has modified operations and created a proactive plan to mitigate unnecessary gathering of people, and protect both the staff and the public. We would like to inform the residents of unincorporated Tulare County of the following:

Field Services

Our Animal Control Officers are dedicated to promoting public safety. At this time, our officers are focusing on emergency and urgent calls, which may include: Law Enforcement assistance, calls for severely sick or injured animals, animal bite incidents, vicious animals, loose livestock causing a public safety concern, or other emergency calls for service. Officers will also respond to non-emergency calls for service as time permits, but please be patient as we currently have a maximum of 3 Animal Control Officers running all of the calls throughout Tulare County. Please call 559-636-4050 x 0 in order to report an urgent animal related issue. Non-urgent complaints may also be submitted through our website at www.tcanimalservices.org.

Shelter Operations

TCAS is dedicated to saving lives, providing humane treatment to the animals in our care, and reuniting pets with their families. At this time, the shelter will remain accessible to the public by appointment only, Monday-Saturday 8am-5pm. Please call the shelter at 559-636-4050 in order to plan your visit.

• Looking for your lost pet?

Please check our website at www.tcanimalservices.org or www.petharbor.com in order to see all of the pets currently at the shelter. If you see your pet on the list, please call us to arrange to come pick them up. Don’t have the ability to look online? Call us and we will help you. Experiencing a financial hardship and afraid that you cannot pay the fines to reclaim your animal? TCAS is dedicated to getting your pet back into your care, please call and speak with us. You may also file a Lost Report with a  picture attachment on our website. 

• Looking to adopt a pet?

Please check the website for adoptable pets and call the shelter to arrange a meet and greet. At this time, we are doing adoptions by appointment in order to comply with social distancing guidelines.

• Found a lost pet?

If you have found a stray dog or a sick or injured animal and wish to bring it to the shelter, please follow the directions posted on the gate. It will direct you to call the office and remain in your vehicle in order to minimize contact. A staff member will take your information over the phone and come to the vehicle to retrieve the animal. If you have found a stray animal who is not sick, injured, aggressive, or in need of urgent assistance, we would suggest first attempting to find the owners utilizing social media and checking with neighbors. You can also file a Found Animal report with a picture of the animal at www.tcanimalservices.org which will be posted on our website for owners who are looking for their lost pet to see. Please call the shelter if the animal is injured, sick, or you have questions or need guidance. We are happy to help!

• Have a feral cat or kittens?

At this time we are not taking in cats or kittens unless they are sick or injured. Please call the shelter if you have questions or need kitten care supplies. We have Kitten Care Packs with everything you might need to care for kittens found in the unincorporated areas of the County and will gladly support you in that process! 

• Need to license your pet?

You can license your pet online or through the mail! Please go to www.tcanimalservices.org for more information.

Thank you to our community for your patience during these unprecedented times, and for coming together to assist both the humans and animals of Tulare County!

Losing a pet is a heart-wrenching situation, but there are ways to give yourself peace of mind. Dogs and cats should wear collars with identification tags; however, collars can fall off or be removed, and animals can get lost without any visible form of ID. A microchip is one of the best ways to protect your dog or cat if the pet gets lost. This tiny chip, about the size of a grain of rice that’s implanted under the skin at the shoulder blades, cannot be lost, worn out, or removed.

If your pet ever gets lost and is taken to an animal shelter or a veterinary clinic, they will scan the animal to see if he or she is microchipped. If so, the identification number appears and you can be found in a database, because the number is linked to your information.

It’s just as important to keep your contact information up to date with the microchip company. Many times animals come into shelters with microchips; however, their owner's contact information is not always current and the animal must wait to be reunited.

Animal Services provides microchipping for only $20 by appointment only during our regular business hours. We accept cash, checks, and credit cards.  Please clink on one of the links below to download the Microchip Owner Information page and bring this completed form with you to the shelter.  Once your animal is microchipped, Animal Services will send the information to the microchip company to register your new microchip.

• Microchip Owner Information Page - English
• Microchip Owner Information Page - Spanish

Tulare County Animal Services provides dog licensing services for all of the unincorporated areas of Tulare County.  If your dog gets lost, a valid license will identify the dog and his/her owner and allow us to reunite lost pets with their owners.  Having your dog licensed also shows that your dog has a current rabies vaccination.  Plus, dog licensing is the law.

To make the process easier, Tulare County Animal Services is now accepting online payments for dog licensing.  Both new and renewal dog licensing can be done online along with updating information on your dog. 

If you are not sure if your address is in the city limits or county please click on the Tulare County Elections website and enter your address.  If you live within the city limits of Dinuba, Exeter, Farmersville, Lindsay, Porterville, Tulare, Visalia or Woodlake, please contact your city's local dog licensing department.

It is far too often a well-meaning person stumbles upon a litter of young kittens, scoops them up, and takes them into their local shelter. Unfortunately, this is not the best option for the kittens and, in most cases, the mother cat was nearby. Most shelters and rescues don’t have the resources available to care for neonatal kittens. Their best chance of survival is with their mom! It’s also important to know that once kittens have been removed from their mother, she will go into heat again immediately resulting in more kittens!

Free-roaming female cats that have not been spayed often leave their kittens alone for a few hours each day. She may spend time away hunting or searching for a new place to move her kittens. Sometimes the mother cat has simply been scared away by a loud noise and is nearby waiting for a safe return. Although you may not be able to see her, she can see you and will wait until it is all clear to return to the nest. For this reason, it is best to leave the kittens where they are and monitor from a distance. If the kittens are in an unsafe location, it’s okay to move them to a safer area nearby where the mom can easily find them. It is a common misconception that a mother cat will not care for her kittens if they are touched, but don’t worry she doesn’t mind. However, don’t be surprised if they’re moved the next time you check on them!

If you find neonatal kittens the best thing to do is leave them alone! Mom will most likely come back. If the kittens are content and not constantly meowing, then mom has probably been there recently.

A few ways to know if mom has been caring for them are:

1. They have full bellies-they have eaten recently if their bellies are slightly firm and round
2. The nest is clean-mother cats don’t allow their nests to be overly soiled.
3. The kittens are warm and content, possibly sleeping and they respond when disturbed.

If the kittens are cold or don’t respond to your touch, they are not healthy and need your help.

If you’re still unsure whether the mother is returning, you can place a ring of flour around the nest and check it after a few hours for pawprints or for other signs of being disturbed.

If the mother returns, celebrate! Great job keeping them safe! You can continue to help them by keep tabs on mom and kittens until they are 8 weeks old and can be trapped, spayed or neutered, and returned to the area they came from. This is the most humane and most effective way of preventing cats from entering the shelter system.

If the mother cat hasn’t returned for 24 hours, the kittens are likely orphans. In this case, you are the next best thing! By fostering the kittens you are freeing space in the shelter as well as increasing their chances of survival by providing the one-on-one care and attention they need. If you need assistance with supplies or have questions regarding their care, you can contact Tulare County Animal Services at 559-636-4050. You can also visit resources.bestfriends.org for more information about caring for orphaned kittens.

Please click here to download the Don't Kit-Nap Kittens flier.

COVID-19: Include Your Pets in Planning

Please click here for your Pet Care Plan.

With the number of diagnosed cases of COVID-19 increasing daily in the County, it is important that people make a care plan for their pets and livestock should they become sick and need to leave their home for treatment.

 “While Tulare County Animal Services remains dedicated to the welfare of both the animals and people of the community and continues to respond to urgent calls for service, the animal shelter does not have the ability to house a large influx of animals. We are urging the public to create a care plan for their pet in the unlikely event that they were temporarily unable to care for them.” –Cassie Heffington, Animal Services Manager, Tulare County Animal Services

To develop a pet care plan, pet owners are encouraged to:

1. Identify a temporary caregiver for your pets – check with friends, family, and neighbors, or with pet-sitters and boarding kennels.
2. Create a written emergency plan for each of your pets. Make sure to include:
   1. The name and contact information for your pet’s temporary caregiver. Be sure to include their cell phone number.
   2.  Your pet’s name, breed, and age.
   3.  Your veterinarian, their clinic name and phone number.
   4.  A copy of your pet’s vaccination records.
   5.  A description of any medical concerns for your pet and directions for any medications they take.
   6.  Your pet’s feeding schedule and directions.
3. Put together a bag or storage box with supplies that your pet might need for two weeks (food, bowls, travel kennel, leash, cat litter, etc.). If your pet is on any medications, make sure to include a two-week supply. Set them aside with a copy of your plan where they can easily be found.

In the unlikely event that you are temporarily unable to care for you pets, having a good plan ahead of time will help provide you with peace of mind, knowing that they will continue to be well cared for in a comfortable environment.